Rocking a Diaper Bag and Filling up Celebrity Purses
This mompreneur is pursuing her dream of handcrafted skin care products.
From kitchen countertop to Vogue magazine, Allison Audrey Weldon has tackled the saturated health and beauty market with her unique line up of essential oils and botanical butters. Sangre de Fruta started as a fun gift idea for family and friends and now graces the purses of Hollywood celebrities. Find out how Allison launched a beauty brand while also welcoming her daughter Penny into the world.
Q: How did the story of Sangre de Fruta Botanical begin?
I’ve always been interested in health and wellness. Several years ago, a family friend introduced me to the process of hand-making creams and other products in her kitchen. She knew the ins and outs of Vancouver’s first apothecary (Gaia Gardens) and we started to experiment with all kinds of precious oils and other materials as a way to make gift baskets for friends and families around the holidays.
The holidays would come and go, but the requests for our lotions and products kept coming in. At the time I was working in the film industry and not completely in love with my job. In the film and fashion world, there is such an unhealthy attitude towards beauty, perfection, and youth, and I knew it wasn’t an industry I wanted to work in long term.
With the blessing of my family friend, and my marketing and design background, I decided to take this product idea and see if I could do something with it. I really wanted to get this product into market with the right story behind it. Luckily, I was able to get my hours down to part-time with the film studio so that I could balance the time needed to get the business up and running with the need to still have a pay check coming in. There came a point when I realized I needed to commit to this new business venture full time and so I left the film business and dove straight in.
Q: When did you decide to add motherhood into the mix?
My partner and I had been talking about finding the right time to start a family, but of course there is never really a perfect time for it. I was about one year into the new business when we decided to take the plunge. We did not have a clear path of what this was going to look like but we thought, if not now then when? A year later Penny arrived in to our lives and I just had to keep on pushing through with the business. Being self-employed meant that I did not have maternity leave, so within a few days of her birth I was back to fulfilling orders out of our apartment. We did have lots of support and help during that time, but it was definitely exhausting!
Q: What has childcare looked like for you and your family?
When Penny was about 6-months old, we decided to hire some help. We started slowly with one day a week and then grew to four to five part days a week as the business continued to grow. My mom was also able to help us out at times as well.
Being self-employed and a new mom really opened my eyes to how much Canada needs subsidized childcare. You really have to make it work financially to be able to get any kind of help with your child.
I had worked so hard to get the brand off the ground, that I didn’t want to lose the momentum I had gained when I had my daughter. Waiting five years until she went to school was not an option for us. My husband has continued to work full-time as well to make this work financially.
We’ve recently moved to Bowen Island which means setting up childcare from scratch again. It was a way for us to fulfill our dream lifestyle of living in a small community and having more living space. However, right now it comes with the sacrifice of my partner commuting long hours during the week to make it work.
Q: Where did your first sales come from?
I launched the business online as I had been giving out the creams for so long I had a bit of a network started already with a personal mailing list. Through my work and connections in the film and fashion industry I was also able to get into a few stores like Anthropology and Free People in the US.
My first big break came when I landed a wholesale commission with GOOP online. They make up the majority of my wholesale business now which has allowed me to be more independent in other ways. Sangre de Fruta can also be found in GOOP pop up stores, Neiman Marcus and other independent boutiques.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges in starting your own business?
It’s constantly changing! You think you have it figured out and then something changes. I am always developing new products so new things come up. New products mean new packaging, and new ingredients to order, figure out how to use, store and potentially new compliance and regulations. Things I couldn’t have even thought of pop up all the time!
Q: How do you try to find balance with the business and time for yourself and family?
Balance is something I am working on but it’s hard. I have to admit that there are lots of things that I love to do that I am not doing right now like working out. I am in a push phase with the business and I really want to focus on getting stuff done. I have accepted that it’s more therapeutic for me to work on my business and check things off the list than it is to try and schedule other things to do. I know that in the future things will change and I will get more time back, but for now in this start-up phase, I know I will be happier if I can meet my goals.
Q: What has been the most surprising since becoming an entrepreneur?
That I actually enjoy the aspects of the business I didn’t think I would. I love the small details like invoicing and paperwork. I thought in the beginning these things would be a nuisance, but because it’s my own business it’s not annoying. I think you have so much more interest and pride when it’s your own work.
Q: Who have you worked with along the way to help you grow your business?
I welcomed two partners to the business last year. Nicholas Bradford Fritz on the art direction and graphic design side of things to compliment my skill set, and Tanner Johnston on strategy and finance. Both of these talented individuals were able to help with production and expansion to take the products to a wider audience.
I’ve also worked with the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs where I was matched with the founder of Blo Blow Dry Bar and Sphere, Devon Brooks. Having someone to bounce ideas off of and be able to chat to about things and get advice is so invaluable!
Q: Where is Sangre de Fruta made?
I am still heavily involved in the production so now it’s Bowen island. We will be launching a new studio space that will be open to the public in the spring of 2019, so if you’re in the area, come by and have a smell!
Q: Do you think it’s more challenging to start a business because you’re a woman?
Women get more support from other women which is great. You also stand out more because there are fewer women entrepreneurs. We’re a smaller niche, and women know how hard it is, especially if you are also a mom. However, women, even women who work, are still typically left to manage the childcare aspects of things which can be challenging.
I came from a traditional family where my mom stayed home and my dad went to work, and so did my husband. Now that we are both working parents, it’s hard to find a way to make it fair for both of us. The lines are very blurred for when I am working versus when am I taking care of our daughter.
Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Some people will always think you can’t do it and they will tell you it’s impossible. While it’s good to have some critical feedback, you have to believe in yourself.
It takes a real conviction to get it done and it will feel kind of crazy to start your own business. There are no guarantees and people are always happy to point that out. But if you want to do it, listen to yourself and go just for it!
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This is part of a series of everyday mom inspired stories who made radical changes in their work life to pursue their passion, all with kids in tow. If you enjoyed reading it, please leave a comment or a clap! See the full series at: medium.com/the-mompreneur
Are you a mom with an inspiring story to share? Send me an email to connect: mompreneurstories@gmail.com
